 | By Kelly Garrity | THE NEWTON NEBBISH SPENT HIS LIFE SURROUNDED BY THE WEALTHY - LOOK AT HIS DONORS! NEVER LIVED IN BOSTON, NEVER HELD AN ELECTED POSITION, LIGHT ON PUBLIC POLICY, MOSTLY MEANINGLESS RHETORIC! SCRUTINIZE BEFORE YOU SUPPORT! MOVING IN — Josh Kraft’s mayoral campaign will move into its new Nubian Square headquarters on Saturday. The first-time candidate plans to run his operation from an office at 36 Warren Street in Roxbury, his campaign shared first with Playbook. The campaign is leasing the spot for $4,000 a month. “There couldn’t be a more appropriate place for our campaign headquarters to call home. This campaign is about making sure that every voice in Boston is heard and valued,” Kraft said in a statement. The location will give the campaign the ability “to manage a growing field operation, recruit volunteers and stay in close contact with the community," he added. Candidates tend to choose a home that reflects their base. Former Mayor Marty Walsh housed his campaign HQ in his home neighborhood of Dorchester in 2013. Wu, who ran on promises of progressive change in 2021, set up shop in Jamaica Plain, one of the city’s more left-leaning neighborhoods. Setting up in Nubian Square is just as strategic for Kraft, who bought property in the North End in 2023. The office space puts Kraft in the heart of Boston’s Black community, a demographic that Kraft likely needs to win big if he hopes to oust the incumbent mayor. It’s also not far from the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, where he serves as board chair. Wu, however, has already earned endorsements from some of the city’s most prominent Black politicians, including state Reps. Russell Holmes and Chris Worrell, and Boston City Councilor Brian Worrell. And an internal poll (caveats apply) from Wu’s campaign conducted shortly after Kraft’s campaign launch last month showed her winning 72 percent of Black voters. ****LOOK AT THE PATRIOTS STADIUM THAT MONOPOLIZES FOXBORO! HOW WILL SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES ENDURE THAT VOLUME OF TRAFFIC? WHERE ARE TRAFFIC PROJECTIONS?**** GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS . In Kraft-adjacent news, Wu huddled Tuesday night in Charlestown with other local electeds to hear from Boston residents amid negotiations over a community mitigation agreement between the Kraft Group and the city over the soccer stadium proposal. Residents ran through an array of concerns and requests: more trees in the neighborhood, anger over the sorry state of the Revs and a chorus of calls to “fix Sullivan Square,” a notoriously hairy traffic zone. The negotiations, Wu said, “really haven't kicked off very much in terms of the substantive conversations because there really hasn't been that much to discuss from the project proponents.” The back-and-forth that has happened didn’t move the ball forward much. City officials brushed aside an early offer from the Kraft’s for $750,000 to be used on athletic fields in Charlestown. There’s been two meetings so far between city officials and the team about the stadium, according to Wu. But the negotiators are up against the clock: If they can’t come to an agreement on their own by May 1, the discussion moves to mediation. And if it's not sorted out by the end of year, then it heads to arbitration. (Josh Kraft has said he would recuse himself from negotiations if elected in November.) TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey is on GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” at noon. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll chairs a Governor’s Council meeting at noon at the State House. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at a ribbon cutting for an affordable housing project at 10 a.m. in Jamaica Plain and speaks at the Condon Community Center Council’s Senior St. Patrick’s Day Party at 11:30 a.m. in South Boston. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Drop me a line: kgarrity@politico.com .
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— “Mass. Governor signs order promoting union labor for public construction projects,” by Samantha J. Gross, The Boston Globe: “Governor Maura Healey on Tuesday signed an executive order to boost the use of so-called project labor agreements by state agencies for large public works construction projects. The move, which puts the state in line with policies set in a sweeping economic development bill Healey signed into law last year, is a boon to the state’s powerful unions; supporters say the change will lower costs to taxpayers. The order Healey signed mirrors language from a section of the law, which would authorize local governments and state agencies to enter into project labor agreements, which often require a project use unionized labor only.”
— “Lawmakers take another stab at getting rid of vaccine religious exemptions,” by Robert Goulston, GBH News: “Pro-vaccine advocates are trying to build support for a bill that would get rid of religious exemptions for routine childhood vaccine requirements in Massachusetts’ schools. Lawmakers held a legislative briefing at the State House on Tuesday about two bills that would remove the non-medical exemption from vaccine requirements as well as improve data collection on immunization rates in Massachusetts.” — “Secretary of education is also named interim commissioner, raising questions about propriety,” by Auzzy Byrdsell, The Boston Globe: “The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has tapped Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler to fill the job of interim commissioner, but some members have questioned if Monday’s 7-2 vote violated the board’s regulations. … Governor Maura Healey must still approve Tutwiler’s temporary appointment to lead DESE. If Healey approves the appointment, he would fulfill the interim position while upholding his current duties as secretary.”
| | FROM THE HUB |
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— “Josh Kraft calls on Michelle Wu to cancel Boston’s White Stadium lease, Wu’s campaign fires back,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “Boston mayoral candidate Josh Kraft is building on his past calls for Mayor Michelle Wu to halt demolition of White Stadium by now pressing Wu to cancel the city’s lease with the for-profit group vying to bring a new pro women’s soccer team there. Kraft, per his campaign, is urging Wu to cancel the city’s 10-year lease with Boston Unity Soccer Partners ‘until a use analysis is conducted and made public that focuses solely on the needs of Boston Public Schools students.’” excerpt: Kraft, the son of billionaire New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and former head of his family’s philanthropic arm, repeated his prior calls for Wu to halt demolition at Franklin Park’s White Stadium until the courts can rule on a pending lawsuit that seeks to stop the roughly $200 million public-private plan. He further urged the mayor to tell city taxpayers who will pay for the demolition and restoration work should the legal challenge be successful. A Suffolk Superior Court trial is set for March 18. Wu’s campaign fired back, saying Kraft “knows nothing” about the project he’s criticizing. “Given the hardball tactics and taxpayer subsidies demanded by the Krafts, it’s no wonder Josh Kraft thinks every public-private partnership is a bad deal,” a Wu campaign spokesperson said. “Fortunately, the city has found a partner to cover half the cost to build and all costs to maintain a facility that will be open to thousands of BPS students, coaches, and community more than 345 days per year. “Josh Kraft should address his own glaring conflicts of interest before criticizing a project he knows nothing about.” Wu, 40, has taken aim at Kraft’s potential conflict of interest with his family’s involvement in plans to build a new soccer stadium in Everett, which has encountered resistance from the mayor and other Boston officials over traffic and parking concerns in nearby Charlestown. The city is leasing White Stadium to Boston Unity, which owns the new pro women’s soccer team that would share use of the field with BPS student-athletes and is set to take the pitch in March 2026. Boston Globe CEO Linda Pizzuti Henry is an investor in the team, but is working to back out of the deal. The plan championed by Wu has divided the community and become a central campaign issue. Taxpayers are on the hook for roughly $100 million, a cost that’s grown in recent weeks.
— “Mayor Wu says Boston has moved too fast on street changes,” by Adam Reilly, GBH News.
| | YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS |
| NEW THIS MORNING — Beverly City Councilor Hannah Bowen is out with a new video as she seeks to fill the open seat that former state Rep. Jerry Parisella left for a role as an associate justice of the District Court. “Public service is my way of giving back,” Bowen says in the video, touting her experience in the Peace Corp. and later as the executive director of a non-profit. The campaign is spending $3,000 to promote the clip on Facebook and CTV.
| | DAY IN COURT |
| ****THE STATUTE WAS AMENDED POST BRUEN! IT IS NOW ENFORCEABLE!**** — “SJC rules Massachusetts’ nonresident gun laws are legal after post-Bruen changes,” by Matthew Medsgar, Boston Herald: “The state’s highest court has issued a pair of decisions regarding the rights of nonresidents to carry firearms through the Bay State, finding that, while some of the commonwealth’s old licensing rules were in fact unconstitutional, changes made to the law in the wake of a major 2022 Supreme Court decisions pass the legal sniff test. The decisions issued Tuesday — Commonwealth v. Dean F. Donnell, Jr. and Commonwealth v. Philip J. Marquis — both deal with charges levied against nonresident gun owners found to be unlawfully in possession of firearms after police responded to a car crash scene in Massachusetts, and the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen on the state’s relevant gun laws.”
The state’s highest court has issued a pair of decisions regarding the rights of nonresidents to carry firearms through the Bay State, finding that, while some of the commonwealth’s old licensing rules were in fact unconstitutional, changes made to the law in the wake of a major 2022 Supreme Court decisions pass the legal sniff test. The decisions issued Tuesday — Commonwealth v. Dean F. Donnell, Jr. and Commonwealth v. Philip J. Marquis — both deal with charges levied against nonresident gun owners found to be unlawfully in possession of firearms after police responded to a car crash scene in Massachusetts, and the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen on the state’s relevant gun laws. According to the court, a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm filed in the Donnell case failed to meet constitutional scrutiny because the underlying law allowed the Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police too much discretion on who could and could not possess a firearm, regardless of their suitability otherwise. In such a case, according to the court, the issue with the law lies with its wording, specifically the “may issue” phrase prohibited after the Bruen decision, and because “it vested impermissible discretion in the licensing authority to grant or deny firearm licenses to nonresidents.” “We hold that the version of the Commonwealth’s nonresident firearm licensing scheme in effect at the time of the offense violates the Second Amendment. Accordingly, as the defendant was charged with violating (the law) after the Supreme Court issued Bruen, he is entitled to dismissal of that charge,” Associate Justice Frank Gaziano wrote for the court. In deciding Bruen, according to Gaziano, “The Supreme Court indicated that such discretionary ‘may issue’ firearm licensing regimes are presumptively invalid.” Marquis faced a similar charge that came well after the Bruen decision and after the Bay State updated its firearms laws to remove instances of “may issue” and replaced them with “shall issue” rules. A lower court originally agreed with the defendant’s motion to dismiss a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm, noting the Commonwealth had failed to “meet its burden under Bruen” by demonstrating that the state’s nonresident rules were “consistent with the nation’s history and tradition of firearm regulation” and therefore still constitutional. According to the Supreme Judicial Court, that constitutional challenge to the state’s updated nonresident licensing scheme fails because the law was changed to remove discretion from licensing authorities, and Marquis’ motion to see his charges undone fails because he never attempted to secure a license to carry before he was charged for not having one. “The defendant has standing to bring an as-applied challenge to the Commonwealth’s nonresident firearm licensing scheme if — but only if — the defendant applied for (and was denied) a license under that scheme,” the judge wrote. “Because the defendant did not do so, he lacks standing to bring an as-applied challenge to the Commonwealth’s nonresident firearm licensing scheme.” | | FROM THE DELEGATION |
| — “Is Seth Moulton owed an apology about his statements on transgender athletes in women’s sports now that so many publicly agree?,” by James Pindell, The Boston Globe: “Representative Seth Moulton, of Salem, set off a firestorm last fall among his fellow Democrats over comments he made about transgender athletes competing in female sports. … Suddenly, he has all kinds of company from big name Democratic politicians.” ***THIS IS ABOUT FREE SPEECH & THE RIGHT TO PROTEST! PROTESTS WERE HELD TO CONDEMN ISRAEL'S GENOCIDE! YOU DON'T HAVE TO AGREE TO PROTECT THE CONSTITUTIONALS RIGHTS!**** — “Pressley, McGovern join calls for ICE to release pro-Palestinian activist and U.S. legal resident,” by Amelia Mason, WBUR: “A group of Democrats is calling on the Trump administration to release Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent pro-Palestinian activist and legal U.S. resident in New York who is being held in an ICE detention center in Louisiana. Fourteen members of Congress, including Massachusetts Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Jim McGovern, signed a letter released Tuesday in support of the 30-year-old Palestinian Columbia University graduate. Their rebuke accused President Trump of deploying an ‘authoritarian playbook.’”
*****MAGA MAGGOTS CHILDISH & UNPROFESSIONAL RHETORIC HAS NO PLACE...IT'S TIME FOR MAGA MAGGOTS TO BEHAVE LIKE ADULTS IF THAT'S AT ALL POSSIBLE! ****
THANK YOU CONGRESSMAN KEATING FOR SPEAKING UP! TARGETING ANY MEMBER OF THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY CONTINUES TO ECHO TRUMP/MAGA NONSENSE! GET OVER IT! MAGA GOP ARE INCAPABLE OF GOVERNING OR CREATING A BUDGET SO FILL THE AIR WITH NONSENSE! — “WATCH: ‘Have you no decency?’: Mass. Rep. Keating rips Republican for misgendering colleague,” by John L. Micek, MassLive.
A U.S. House hearing was abruptly adjourned Tuesday after U.S. Rep. William Keating, of Massachusetts, laced into its Republican chairperson for misgendering a Democratic colleague from Delaware. U.S. Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Europe subcommittee, introduced U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., the chamber’s first transgender lawmaker, as “Mister McBride.” | | FROM THE 413 |
| — “Northampton council to discuss censure of member Rothenberg for behavior during dispatch call,” by Alexander MacDougall, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “The City Council will convene a special meeting Wednesday to consider a resolution to censure Ward 3 Councilor Quaverly Rothenberg for alleged “egregious conduct” during a phone call she made to a city dispatch line on Feb. 18 in the wake of a severe snow and ice storm. The resolution states that Rothenberg called a non-emergency dispatch line and spoke with two dispatchers in a way that violated the city charter, potentially violated Massachusetts rules and laws governing the ‘ethical conduct of public officials, harassed city employees and generally behaved in a manner unbecoming to a city councilor.’” PAY WALL — “Three more Stearns Elementary School paraprofessionals placed on leave amid allegations of isolating students in bathrooms,” by Greg Sukiennik, The Berkshire Eagle.
PAY WALL | | THE LOCAL ANGLE |
| — “Controversial Bridgewater 'DEI' resolution killed. Is it over? What both sides said,” by Hailey Clevenger, The Brockton Enterprise: “After weeks of division between councilors, a controversial Bridgewater resolution slammed as DEI ‘subterfuge’ has been killed. Every town council member voted to kill the resolution at the town council meeting on Tuesday, March 4. The resolution has sparked a petition on Change.org with over 600 signatures against it. But, Councilor Fred Chase, who introduced the resolution with Vice President Paul Murphy and Councilor Sonya Striggles, said ‘another resolution will arise’ again.” excerpt: Striggles called the resolution "personal" to her and referred back to the time in the February meeting when she brought up her grandparents buying land in Bridgewater in 1957 and how the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had not yet passed. "Which means, when my grandparents bought land here in 1957, they easily could have been discriminated against for the color of their skin, which is why I wanted everyone to know why it was such a big deal for me," she said. She then talked about her own experience with discrimination. "I was not coached to pull the race card in that matter," she said. "I challenge you to have a conversation with me about the messages, the 12 disgusting messages I personally received on Twitter, where the n-word was used in every single one." She ended her remarks by saying, "If we are not going to stand for a reaffirmation of who we are, then we must live up to what we say we are as a community." At a previous meeting in February, several town councilors expressed strong skepticism about the resolution including Councilor Adelene Ellenberg, who said, "I see this entire article as subterfuge for DEI and sanctuary city. Why does this concern me? Because of federal funding." — “Acushnet Avenue businesses feeling the immigration pinch,” by Arthur Hirsch, The New Bedford Light: “ — “Amesbury community speaks out against proposed school budget cuts, ” by Matt Petry, The Newburyport Daily News. — “About 200 at New Bedford rally to protest healthcare cuts, Trump and Musk policies,” Frank Mulligan, The Standard-Times.
NEW BEDFORD — The message was clear: Stop. The Coalition for Social Justice hosted a rally outside the Hastings Keith Federal Building on North Sixth Street Tuesday evening, and the theme was “Stop the Cuts.” Organizers said that applied to cuts to Medicaid, the government-run health insurance program for low-income people. They say they also want to stop President Donald Trump’s drive to deport undocumented immigrants. And they said they want to stop the dismantling of critical government services, as well as tax giveaways to billionaires and giant corporations, according to an email announcing the rally to gather supporters. Their message was delivered Tuesday during the evening rush hour by at least 200 people, many holding scenes that elicited frequent beeps in support by passing motorists. Following several speakers, the rally attendees marched down to the New Bedford Community Health offices. Heidi Collins, director of programs at the Southeast Center for Independent Living in Fall River, said their clients rely on Medicaid to work. They also need Medicaid to live independently and stay out of nursing homes. “We need to make sure we’re protecting Medicaid not only for individuals with disabilities but seniors.” They rely on MassHealth which is Massachusetts’ Medicaid program, Collins said. “We need to stand together to send a message to Congress – no, to Medicaid cuts.” Protest organizers decry potential cutsTeia Searcy, a political organizer with the union 1199SEIU representing healthcare workers, said “77% of Americans agree we must protect Medicaid. This isn’t about politics. It’s about survival. That’s why we are all here today.” Richard Drolet said he’s been active in labor and community struggles his entire life. “We are here this afternoon to say no to would-be dictators like Donald Trump and Elon Musk who are trying to take over this entire country and rule it like it was their own personal kingdom.” One woman spoke on behalf of undocumented immigrants, alternating between English and Spanish. She said, “We are not criminals. We are workers. We pay taxes.” Musk, Trump talk Social SecurityElon Musk said the Department of Government Efficiency that he oversees is on track of meeting its goal of cutting $1 trillion from the federal government by the start of the next fiscal year at the end of September, according to a USA Today article. He has also pointed to government "entitlements" as the biggest barrier. In 2024, Social Security and health care spending (including Medicare and Medicaid) made up 45% of the overall federal budget, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Musk was quoted in the USA Today article as saying, "The waste and fraud in entitlement spending — which most of the federal spending is entitlements — that's like the big one to eliminate." Trump has vowed repeatedly that he won't touch Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in spending cuts. "I'm not going to touch Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid," Trump said in a Sunday interview on Fox News, adding: "Now, we're going to get fraud out of there," according to the USA Today article. The Coalition for Social Justice is a grassroots organization founded in 1994 to bring together people affected by and concerned about poverty to advocate for economic opportunity, according to its website. The New Bedford federal building’s key tenants include the Social Security Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. General Services Administration, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to its website. | | WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD BE READING |
| — “Michael Dukakis, a political lion in winter, reflects on his life and service,” by Brian MacQuarrie, The Boston Globe. — “Local Gannett-owned websites are using AI to help write articles,” by Sarah Betancourt and Lisa Wardle, GBH News: “Several Boston-area news publications are using artificial intelligence to generate articles for their websites, according to a human-written story by editor Dan O’Brien of MetroWest Daily News. In the story, O’Brien mentions MetroWest Daily News, Milford Daily News and Wicked Local — all owned by the media company Gannett, which publishes USA TODAY and hundreds of newspapers. are using an artificial intelligence tool called Espresso that is ‘designed to draft polished articles from community announcements.’”
| | MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE |
| ***THE POPULAR SENATOR JEANNE SHAHEEN HAS ANNOUNCED THAT SHE WILL NOT SEEK RE-ELECTION! NEW HAMPSHIRE MAY BE STUCK WITH FRMR GOV. CHRIS SUNUNU, ANNOUNCED IN THE MOONIE NEWSPAPER THE WASHINGTON TIMES!**** ON SECOND THOUGHT — Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu actually has not "completely" ruled out a run for Senate in 2026. People have "asked me to think about it and to consider it, and that is just kind of where I am,” he told The Washington Times .
| | HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH |
| SOME LOSERS & CARPETBAGGERS NEVER GO AWAY! SPOTTED — on Capitol Hill: former Sen. Scott Brown. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to former Massachusetts governor and former Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, Chase Delano, Michael Gallant, Colleen Aber Tlagae and Andrew Carden. Happy belated to Haley Jones, finance director for the MassGOP, who celebrated Tuesday. Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com .
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